


subterfuge

by Anonymous



Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/F, Fake/Pretend Relationship, i'm supposed to be studying for med boards guys but the edeleth brainworms won't stop biting, oh look it's another fucking fic
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-19
Updated: 2020-06-19
Packaged: 2021-03-04 01:02:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 909
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24805129
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/
Summary: The principal's niece comes to Edelgard with an interesting proposition.
Relationships: Edelgard von Hresvelg/My Unit | Byleth
Comments: 5
Kudos: 68
Collections: Anonymous





	subterfuge

“Hey.”

It’s well past the school bell’s last ring; Edelgard’s only here because she’d forgotten one of her textbooks, and it’s surprising to have someone else still be here this late. 

It’s even stranger once she sees who’s approached her. It’s Byleth Eisner.

She’s familiar with her—but then again, who wouldn’t be? It’s one thing to be a transfer student coming in during their junior year in a community that’s known each other since kindergarten, it’s another for that same person to be the principal’s niece. And if that weren’t enough, Byleth dressed like... _ that _ .

So yes, she knows her. But they’ve never spoken to each other,  _ ever _ . So what could she want?

“You von Hresvelg?” 

“Yes?” Edelgard answers, as she slowly places her Geometry textbook in her bag. “Can I help you?”

“You can, actually. You enjoy pissing my aunt off, right?”

Edelgard’s eyes widen at the way Byleth says it so casually, almost flatly. She tries to read her face for any clue as to what this is all about, but her expression is indecipherable.

“I wouldn’t say I  _ enjoy _ it,” Edelgard says carefully, because really for all she knows Rhea might be using Byleth to get incriminating evidence of her, “but I do believe firmly in standing up for my rights as a student, and it isn’t my fault if such a stance ruffles a few feathers along the way.”

There’s a slight quirk to Byleth’s brow at her answer, and—is that a ghost of a smile?

“I agree that a public high school shouldn’t be so overtly Catholic, but does such a stance mean taking all the Saints’ images and throwing them behind the school dumpster?”

Edelgard barely suppresses a smile. Yes, it might have been a bit much, but the look on Rhea’s face was totally worth it.

“Well, I’ve written letters to the principal for weeks but nothing happened. I’m sure whoever took down the photos were as fed-up as I was with their non-answers.”

Byleth’s response comes as a slight hum, but the look of almost-amusement doesn’t leave her face. 

“I’m going to put that down as a ‘yes’ to my question, then. So, do you want to be my girlfriend?”

What?

“Sorry,” Edelgard says, her heart rate picking up a little, “can you repeat that again?”

“Oh, okay. Do...you...want...to...be...my...girl...friend..?” She says each syllable as slowly as can be, slow enough for Edelgard’s eyes to focus on her lips and oh that is really not helping things.

“Or, it’s more like,  _ can _ you be my girlfriend?” Byleth continues at her normal tempo, tilting her head and pouting a little. “Wait, sorry, let me give you some context.”

“As you know, my aunt’s very religious. I’m pansexual, and Aunt Rhea knows this, but she’s convinced that it’s all just a phase, especially since I’ve never dated a girl before. I figured that if I  _ did _ get a girlfriend she could at least stop pretending my sexuality didn’t exist. I’d ask people that I know better—no offense—but you’re probably the only person I know of who isn’t scared of my aunt.”

Edelgard almost sighs in relief. It’s a convoluted solution, but it makes  _ much _ more sense than a stranger coming up to her out of the blue to ask her out.

“It’s a strange request, but I’d hate to do nothing in the face of a microaggression,” she replies. And it’s true! But the thought of annoying Rhea even further didn’t hurt.

“So? Are you in?”

“I’m...considering it.” She’s only dated once, and for a very,  _ very  _ brief period of time, so she’s not sure if she knows exactly what it entails. But since it’s all fake anyway, it probably won’t take up too much of her time. “I have to go, my driver’s waiting for me in the car, but let’s hash out the details tomorrow and I’ll tell you then if I’m sold on the idea.”

“Deal. You don’t know how grateful I am that you’re even considering it,” Byleth says. And she’s right, it’s hard to tell with how flat her voice is, but Edelgard’ll just have to believe it. 

  
  


“Here,” she continues, taking out a parcel from her sling bag. She hands it to Edelgard who unwraps it after some prompting from the former—inside is a set of high-quality, expensive watercolors.

“I—Byleth—” she uselessly sputters as she stares wide-eyed at the box. She’s been pining over this particular set for months, but the price was too high for her to justify buying it. 

“I asked Bernie if she knew what you’d like as a gift, and she mentioned that you’d recently run out of watercolors...I had help picking out the exact brand. Don’t let it pressure you to make a choice though; think of it as a thank you for taking the time to talk to me.”

Edelgard opens her mouth to turn it down because, really, it’s too much, but Byleth looks like the type that won’t take a no for something like this. So instead, she says: “You’re doing great at this fake-girlfriend thing already. We’re definitely going to pull it off.” She places the gift carefully into her bag. “Thank you, Byleth.”

“You’re welcome.” The quirk of her mouth turns into an actual smile, and Edelgard feels herself warming up. 

It’s a strange way to make a friend, but she can’t complain.

**Author's Note:**

> if anyone wants to write something similar, please do so I'm begging you; no one's done a fake dating au for edeleth afaik so i took it upon myself to start one but i don't think i'll have the time or the brain cells to finish it any time soon HAHAHHAHA


End file.
